2016-12-10T03:04:54ZEducational upgrading and returns to skills in Latin America : evidence from a supply-demand framework, 1990-2010http://idl-bnc.idrc.ca:8080/dspace/handle/10625/48804
Title: Educational upgrading and returns to skills in Latin America : evidence from a supply-demand framework, 1990-2010
Authors: Gasparini, Leonardo; Galiani, Sebastián; Cruces, Guillermo; Acosta, Pablo
Abstract: It has been argued that a factor behind the decline in income inequality in Latin America in
the 2000s was the educational upgrading of its labor force. Between 1990 and 2010, the
proportion of the labor force in the region with at least secondary education increased from
40 to 60 percent. Concurrently, returns to secondary education completion fell throughout the
past two decades, while the 2000s saw a reversal in the increase in the returns to tertiary
education experienced in the 1990s. This paper studies the evolution of wage differentials
and the trends in the supply of workers by educational level for 16 Latin American countries
between 1990 and 2000. The analysis estimates the relative contribution of supply and
demand factors behind recent trends in skill premia for tertiary and secondary educated
workers. Supply-side factors seem to have limited explanatory power relative to demand-side
factors, and are only relevant to explain part of the fall in wage premia for high-school
graduates. Although there is significant heterogeneity in individual country experiences, on
average the trend reversal in labor demand in the 2000s can be partially attributed to the
recent boom in commodity prices that could favor the unskilled (non-tertiary educated)
workforce, although employment patterns by sector suggest that other within-sector forces
are also at play, such as technological diffusion or skill mismatches that may reduce the labor
productivity of highly-educated workers.2011-01-01T00:00:00ZWork and tax evasion incentive effects of social insurance programs : evidence from an employment based benefit extensionhttp://idl-bnc.idrc.ca:8080/dspace/handle/10625/48803
Title: Work and tax evasion incentive effects of social insurance programs : evidence from an employment based benefit extension
Authors: Bérgolo, Marcelo; Cruces, Guillermo
Abstract: The impact of the tax and benefit system on work incentives is one of the most salient policy issues
in labor and public economics. Despite a concurrent ample literature on tax evasion, there is relatively little
analysis of the joint work and evasion incentive effects introduced by social insurance and related programs.
This paper evaluates the behavioral responses of workers in these dimensions. Using a quasi-experimental
approach, it studies a large scale expansion of employment based benefits in the social insurance system of a
middle income country, Uruguay. The policy change extended the coverage of a compulsory, in-work and
payroll tax financed health insurance program to the dependent children of private sector salaried workers, but
only to full-time registered employees – those complying with payroll tax and social security contribution
requirements. The results indicate that individuals that benefited from the reform responded to these financial
incentives as predicted by economic theory, significantly increasing their labor force participation and hours
of work, with most of the increase in registered (or “on”-the-books) employment. The reform only required
one registered employee within the household to warrant the extended coverage, and the results provide
evidence on disincentives for secondary workers, which reduced their labor supply in the form of registered
employment. The analysis also uncovers complex patterns of tax evasion responses besides the reduction in
off-the-books employment (a fall in outright tax evasion). Exploiting a unique feature of the data, the results
indicate an adjustment along the intensive margin of evasion, with an increase in the underreporting of
salaried earnings for registered employees following the reform. The conclusion illustrates how the
consideration of these additional margins that are not contemplated by the canonical model has relevant policy
consequences.2012-01-01T00:00:00ZScarring effects of youth unemployment and informality : evidence from Argentina and Brazilhttp://idl-bnc.idrc.ca:8080/dspace/handle/10625/48802
Title: Scarring effects of youth unemployment and informality : evidence from Argentina and Brazil
Authors: Viollaz, Mariana; Ham, Andrés; Cruces, Guillermo
Abstract: This paper studies the effects of youth unemployment and informality on adult labor market outcomes in Argentina and Brazil. We propose an econometric strategy based on cross-cohort differences in youth labor market experiences in order to identify the effects of interest. The main findings indicate strong and significant scarring effects: cohorts exposed to higher levels of unemployment and informality in their youth fare systematically worse in the labor markets as adults. However, the persistence and wage penalty effects are mainly present in the early years of adulthood, and tend to dissipate with the passage of time. We also find that adverse effects are stronger for workers with lower skills. The main contribution of these results is to add a further dimension specific to developing and middle income countries – informality – to previous studies of unemployment scarring in advanced economies.2012-01-01T00:00:00ZExploring trends in labor informality in Latin America, 1990-2010http://idl-bnc.idrc.ca:8080/dspace/handle/10625/48801
Title: Exploring trends in labor informality in Latin America, 1990-2010
Authors: Tornarolli, Leopoldo; Battistón, Diego; Gasparini, Leonardo; Gluzmann, Pablo
Abstract: Labor informality is a pervasive characteristic of the labor markets in Latin
America, and a central issue in the public policy debate. This paper discusses the
concept of labor informality and implements alternative definitions using
microdata from around 300 national household surveys in all Latin American
countries. The analysis covers two decades: while labor informality, defined as
lack of social protection related to employment, remained with few changes in the
1990s, there is a discernible downward pattern during the 2000s in most countries.
These movements reveal a counter-cyclical behavior of labor informality, that may
be linked to segmentation in the labor market.2012-01-01T00:00:00ZDemographic change and its influence on development in Latin America and the Caribbeanhttp://idl-bnc.idrc.ca:8080/dspace/handle/10625/48035
Title: Demographic change and its influence on development in Latin America and the Caribbean
Authors: Jaspers-Faijer, Dirk; Schkolnik, Susana; Saad, Paulo; Miller, Tim; Huenchuan, Sandra
Description: Meeting: Thirty-second session of ECLAC, Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic, 9-13 June 20082008-01-01T00:00:00Z